Compostagem

Faculty of Forestry and Resource Management Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany International M.Sc. Program Sustainable Resource Management

February 2011

Application of Compost to the Soil
Course: Waste in Landscapes and Soils Supervisor: Dr. Matthias Leopold WS 2010/2011

Alessandra Giacometti - matriculation number: 03611250 - [e-mail] Olivia Schmid - matriculation number: 03610778 - [e-mail]

1. Introduction An ever-increasing world population results in a higher waste production, causing vast environmental impacts. Consequently, the need for recycling has been widely understood and tried to be implemented. Biological waste is one category of waste that steadily increases due to a higher demand for organic food. Besides, the banning of organic materials from landfills did demand for recycling measures of this sort of waste. Furthermore, the augmentation of agricultural activities and mineral extraction, for example, can severely damage the soil, which requires further sanitation in order to re-establish its natural properties. (Fuchs et al., 2008; Maynard, 2000) In this regard the exaggerated use of chemical fertilizers is partially responsible for soil degradation, the loss of soil structure, a decline in overall soil quality and a decrease in soil’s nutrient availability (Muldavin, 2000). The production of compost from biological waste and its application to the soil is one option to recycle something that has been previously known as “waste”, thereby closing the loop by returning organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Furthermore, compost helps by mitigating the depletion of organic matter in agricultural land and can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by increasing the productivity of organic fertilizer, making it more bio-available (Haight, 2000). Hence the use of compost is an alternative for a sustainable and ecologically compatible cultivation which simultaneously protects our limited